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Representatives from the Department for Infrastructure Rivers division met member of the Newry business community at a meeting this week to discuss the recently published 'South East Flood Report'.
Organised by Newry BID (Business Improvement District) the meeting highlighted the fact that local businesses feel underwhelmed by the report despite 22 recommendations detailed following a review of the extensive flooding in Newry City Centre and other areas last autumn.
Eamonn Connolly, Newry BID Manager welcomed the meeting with impacted businesses in attendance. “We welcome this further engagement with DfI Rivers Agency. I would like to thank Jonathan McKee, Gary Quinn and their team for really stepping up to the plate and addressing the issues and concerns our members have." he said
“This meeting was very constructive and opened a line of dialogue which we will work hard to continue. We need now to bring other parties to the table to ensure that three months away from the anniversary of these floods, we have short term plans in place to try to alleviate the impact of any further flooding.”
Eamonn continued, “We welcome the plans for future flood alleviation, but it is clear, these are not short-term fixes. We now need to work together, to form a business resilience group for this area, and try to ensure that we learn from what happened last year; while putting in place measures to try to manage any further flooding instances.”
A list of action points from the meeting has been compiled with minutes being circulated to attendees. It is expected that a further meeting will take place in the coming months, when DfI Rivers have had an opportunity to deliver on the action points.
